In 2023, Viz Media unveiled a new subscription service called Viz Manga. With the founding of this new website and app, several Weekly Shonen Jump titles were retooled for English readers and American audiences and transferred over to be accessed for a small monthly fee. As standard for all manga, the first three and last three chapters are free, then the rest are locked for non-subscribers. The library contains over 10,000 chapters of over 150 existing series, but which ones should you try? Here are Siliconera’s recommendations for the best Viz Manga app series to start with.
Image via Tite Kubo
Best Viz Manga App Martial Arts Story: Bleach
Kicking off our must-read manga, we have Tite Kubo’s Bleach. Originally running from 2001 to 2016, Bleach has compiled 74 tankōbon volumes, as well as spawning a franchise of two animated television series, four animated films, a live-action film, and miscellaneous light novels, video games, trading card games, and musicals. The story follows teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who gains the abilities of a Soul Reaper — similar to a Grim Reaper — to inherit his parent’s destiny of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. Viz Media published Bleach‘s chapters in their Shonen Jump magazine from November 2007 until April 2012.
Best Viz Manga App Shonen Title: Naruto
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto began its original run in 1999 and continued until 2014. The spin-off series from Ukyō Kodachi and Masashi Kishimoto, Boruto, began circulation in 2016 and is currently ongoing with its second part, titled Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. The plot centers on Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Naruto is collected in 72 tankōbon volumes and told in two parts — the first set in Naruto’s pre-teen years, and the second during his teen years. A 220-episode anime ran from 2002 to 2007, followed by Naruto: Shippuden, which aired from 2007 to 2017 with 500 episodes. Studio Pierrot has also developed 11 movies and 12 OVAs.
Image via Kohei Horikoshi
Best Viz Manga App Superhero Title: My Hero Academia
In 2014, mangaka Kōhei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia began publication with chapters collected into 38 tankōbon volumes as of August 2023. The superhero manga follows Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, an aspiring superhero born without a Quirk — the term for commonplace superpowers in this universe — who is scouted by All Might, the world’s greatest hero. All Might bestows his Quirk on Deku and enrolls him in U.A. High School, where he slowly harnesses his Quirk. The My Hero Academia manga has produced three spin-offs — Smash!!, Vigilantes, and Team-Up Missions — as well as an ongoing anime series, three animated films — Two Heroes, Heroes Rising, and World Heroes’ Mission — and two video games, One’s Justice and One’s Justice 2.
Best Viz Manga App Dark Fantasy Story: The Promised Neverland
Written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, The Promised Neverland is a dark fantasy manga set in a world inhabited by sentient creatures of different species. In this world, an agreement called ‘The Promise’ was made between humans and demons to form a truce after a long war. Human breeding farms were disguised as orphanages, where children would be kept separate from the outside world and raised by a ‘mother’ to ripen them for consumption. When it was time for them to be ‘adopted,’ they were fed to a high-ranking demon instead. an 11-year-old orphan named Emma discovers the truth of her fate when her friend Conny is murdered, prompting her to join forces with her friend Ray to escape with some of their older siblings. The Promised Neverland was collected into 20 tankōbon volumes and an anime series of the same name ran from 2019 to 2021. In 2020, a live-action film was released.
Image via Natsuki Takaya
Best Viz Manga App Shojo Title: Fruits Basket
The title for Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket is derived from the name of a popular game played in Japanese elementary schools. This is similar to how Netflix’s Squid Game is based on the children’s playground game of the same name. It has produced 23 tankōbon volumes, two anime television series, and an anime film. Fruits Basket tells the story of orphan girl Tohru Honda, who learns that 13 members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and transform into these forms when weak, stressed, or embraced by anyone of the opposite gender who is not cursed. As the series progresses, Tohru learns more about the Sohma family and gradually aids them in healing their emotional wounds, learning more about herself in the process.
Best Viz Manga App Supernatural Title: Tokyo Ghoul
Another dark fantasy manga, Tokyo Ghoul was conceived by Sui Ishida, who also worked on Choujin X. The manga ran from 2011 to 2014 with 14 tankōbon volumes. The story is set in an alternate version of Tokyo where humans and ghouls co-exist, but ghouls can only survive by eating human flesh. Ken Kaneki, a college student, is transformed into a half-ghoul after an encounter, forcing him to navigate the complex social and political dynamics consequential with his transformation, all while trying to maintain his humanity. Tokyo Ghoul produced an anime television series, which itself consisted of two seasons and a spin-off anime based on the sequel manga, Tokyo Ghoul:re. The franchise also comprises light novels, five video games, and two live-action films — Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul S.
Image via Eiichiro Oda
Best Viz Manga App Adventure Title: One Piece
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece began serialization in 1997 and is still ongoing with over 100 tankōbon volumes as of this writing. The story follows the exploits of Monkey D. Luffy, a young man who dreams of becoming King of the Pirates. In order to do so, he sets sail across the Grand Line with his misfit crew, the Straw Hats, to find the coveted treasure known as the ‘One Piece.’ Two years after the manga started circulating, One Piece produced an anime series, which is also ongoing. Several animated films and video games comprise the franchise, which has also received a live-action adaptation from Netflix, starring Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, alongside Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar.
Best Viz Manga App Newcomer Title: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
In Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer, teenager Tanjiro Kamado’s family is slaughtered by a demon, and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into one during the encounter. This motivates Tanjiro to train hard and become a swordman for the Demon Slayer Corps, known as Demon Slayers, who devote their lives to fighting demons and protecting the humans from certain peril. Once Tanjiro learns the Water Breathing Style, he meets Zenitsu and Inosuke on his travels and forms a team with them. The manga ran from 2016 to 2020 with 23 tankōbon volumes, but the anime — which aired in 2019 — is still ongoing. Two animated films were also made — Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village.
Image via One
Best Viz Manga App Comedy Title: One-Punch Man
As the name suggests, the story of Tomohiro/One’s One-Punch Man is that Saitama, a superhero, can defeat any opponent with a single punch, therefore he grows bored due to the lack of a challenge. One wrote the original webcomic manga in 2009, but the ‘official’ manga wasn’t published until 2012, but it is still ongoing as of 2023. The One-Punch Man manga is periodically compiled and published into individual tankōbon volumes, with 28 volumes published thus far. An anime adaptation was broadcast in Japan from October to December 2015 and a second season followed from April to July 2019. As of this writing, a third season has been announced. Two video games — One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows andOne Punch Man: Road to Hero were also released.
Best Viz Manga App Magic Girl Title: Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon was published in Kodansha’s shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997, producing 52 individual chapters that were published in 18 volumes. The series follows a school girl by the name of Usagi Tsukino, who can transform into Sailor Moon to search for a magical artifact, the “Legendary Silver Crystal.” She assembles a group of fighters, called the Sailor Guardians, to defeat the forces of evil, prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal, and stop the destruction of the Solar System. An anime adaptation of Sailor Moon ran from 1992 to 1997, followed by a reboot from 2014 to 2016. Other forms of media include a live-action film, five animated films, a collectible card game, and countless video games.
All of the titles and more can be enjoyed on the Viz Manga App, available for iOS and Android. Subscriptions started from $1.99 a month.
